Certain diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's are the result of cell death in the nervous system. Epileptic seizures also result in cell death. Proteins which cause the survival (and division) of cell types may be of use in treating these diseases as well as in promoting nerve regeneration.
A major cause of blindness is the proliferation of blood vessels into the neural retina (angiogenesis) and the death of photoreceptor cells (various diseases). It is possible that angiogenic protein molecules secreted by certain tumor cells derived from the retina are responsible for aberrant growth of blood vessels into the neural retina in diseases such as diabetic retinopathy. In addition, tumor cell lines from the central nervous system have been under investigation for some time, see, for example: Schubert et al., Nature Vol. 249:224-227 (May 1974) and Bottenstein et al., P.N.A.S. Vol. 76,1:514-517 (January 1979). Such lines are believed to secrete proteins that promote cell division and growth.
Consistent with the foregoing, identification of such proteins would be of substantial value. Such identification should lead to the characterization of such proteins by their amino acid sequences and eventually to the production of such proteins in significant quantities for adequate in vitro and in vivo biological testing, likely by using recombinant DNA methods for their production. Characterization permits the design of agonists and antagonists of such proteins, and antagonists can often be of considerable importance.